A wave of nostalgia for all things 1980s and 1990s combined at New York Toy Fair in New York with a proliferation of videogames IP and the continued expansion of licensed collectible lines.IThe show is awash in toys and other merchandise carrying the license of Epic Games’ “Fortnite.” But products connected to other titles of Fortnite’s battle royale genre such as “Playersunknown’s Battleground” also were in evidence, and companies were monitoring the latest entrant in the category — Electronic Arts’ “Apex Legend” – for licensing opportunities. The EA game has gained more than 25 million players since its release earlier this month. The licensing has extended beyond game to gamers, with pro gamer Richard Tyler Blevins, better known by his Ninja handle in playing Fortnite, gaining his own master toy licensee (Wicked Cool Toys) and a separate pact with Zuru for its X-Shot blasters.

“Videogames are a big trend that everyone is seeing now and they have become the equivalent of tier A (film) studio content,” says Funko’s Dolly Ahluwalia.

Among the things we saw on Day One:

 

Mattel Takes Content-Driven Approach

Mattel is embarking on a strategy driven by a sharply iuncereased amount of major content built on its brands, not just Barbie and Hot Wheels, but also such lesser featured properties as Fireman Sam, Enchantimals and Angelina Ballerina.  “We are going to have more of a cohesive launch (for toys) and I think it is a new way of looking at things,” the company spokeswoman said. “With our expansion as an IP-driven entertainment company, we are not always thinking toy first now,” and also considering licensing out IP. Mattel has traditionally done this with its well-known brands such Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher Price, but not as much for lesser-known properties. The change follows the creation of a Global Franchise Management Group and Mattel Film and TV divisions last year after the hiring of CEO Ynon Kreiz. Meanwhile, Mattel is readying a May launch for 11.5-inch fashion dolls based on the seven-member South Korean boy band BTS featuring their patterned suits.

A “travel” theme for Mattel’s Barbie efforts this year includes a set of National Geographic-licensed dolls, portraying her in roles such as marine biologist, photo journalist, wildlife photographer and astrophysicist.

It also will add “Game of Thrones” kits to its Mega Brands construction sets, extending a line targeted at a higher age range that also includes properties such “Call of Duty” and “Halo.”

 

Funco Segmenting and Extending Its Licensed Businesses

Funko, seeking to bring its premium Loungefly bags and backpacks to mass retailers, is expanding distribution of products that drop the brand name, but feature licensed IP, says Funko’s Dolly Ahluwalia. The company tested the concept with backpacks carrying Harry Potter and Stranger Things licenses at Target last year in which the price was reduced to compete with Bioworld and others, Ahluwalia said. “Loungefly is a very much a specialty (retail) brand, so we want to make sure these bags and backpacks are [recognized as being] for mass. We don’t want to say to the market ‘now you can buy them for half the price’ because that would kill our specialty business,” says Ahluwalia. Among the retailers targeted for the new strategy, in addition to Target, are GameStop and FYE.

Meanwhile, Funko says Target sold about 200,000 units during the recent holiday season of t-shirts (packaged in boxes similar to those that used to carry VHS tapes) featuring film properties from the 1970s and 1980s, including Animal House, Rocky, Bloodsport and Robocop. “In apparel, everyone is fighting for an $8 or $10 price and you have to do something that makes things a little more special,” says Ahulwalia. Funko, having landed its first licensing deal with Major League Baseball a year ago, is extending it to co-branded Pez dispensers. It also will test a new concept for its Pop! vinyl figures with the introduction this fall of Pop! Towns($30), featuring characters packaged with their homes such as SpongeBob SquarePants’ Squidward and his pineapple house.

The company will expand distribution this summer of its own Wetmore Forest-branded plush and Pop! vinyl figures to Barnes & Noble, after testing them last year online at Walmart.com and at its corporate store in Everett, WA.

 

Fortnite and Other Collectibles

No fewer than four companies introduced collectibles of various stripes for Fortnite. Other companies mixed grocery and household brands in with existing collectible lines, some making a play with nostalgic labels.

Moose Toys is bringing its Shopkins-like strategy to Fortnite with the introduction of 100 figures, the first 20 of which will ship in the spring along with playsets. The Fortnite product is Moose’s first venture into a videogame license, taking it outside its typical 6-11-year-old target. Moose is licensed for three-inch and under collectibles.

Zuru also showed a Fortnite collectibles line, while McFarlane Toys built out its action figures with 39-inch hobby horse-like products based on Fortnite characters Bitemark and Rainbow Smash. Jazwares also is fielding a collecton of 13, four-inch figures also based avatars from the game. Funko also has Fortnite mini-figures.

Elsewhere in collectibles category, Moose and Zuru added licensed household and grocery brands to their mix.  Moose unveiled Shopkins Mini Brands with Shopkins characters coming in packages featuring any of more than 20 labels such as Swiss Miss, Hebrew National, Welch’s, Pringles, Cheez It and Peter Pan. For its part, Zuru has a wave of about 200 brands for its 5 Surprise mystery capsules that were first introduced in Australia and the UK and are being brought to the U.S. for the first time.

 

Playmates Launches Licensed Gliders

Playmates Toys is launching glider planes and collectibles that combine its own IP with licensed brands. Super G gliders and Pop Tops collectibles are being introduced with Spider-Man, Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles licenses.

Playmates also is the master toy licensee (playsets, figures, vehicles and plush) for Guru Studios’ 26-episode, 11-minute “Pikwik” pre-school series for all countries outside China. The series airs on Disney Jr. in the U.S. starting in 2020. The company also is readying for 2020 vehicles and figures based on Zag Entertainment’s “Zag Heroez: Power Players” series that launches on Cartoon Networks in September. Meanwhile, Playmates is shifting distribution of its Kuroba! collectibles to international distributors this year after initial sales through Walmart fell short of forecast in 2018, a company spokeswoman said. The line is based on Bento Box Entertainment’s Sutikki Division’s 26-episode YouTube series that launched last summer. Playmates is the master toy licensee for the IP.

 

Alpha Group

Alpha Group says it has registered about $250 million in global retail sales for its “Super Wings”-licensed airplanes and vehicles since launching the line in 2016, but revenue in the U.S. has trailed other regions owing to tighter shelf space for pre-school properties here, says Alpha’s Kimberly Morris. Super Wings toys have been a strong seller in Alpha’s home market of China. Super Wings, a co-production of South Korea’s FunnyFlux Entertainment and China’s Qianqi Animation, has 104 episodes and airs on Universal Kids in the U.S. Alpha Group also is readying products for “Rev & Roll”, which it is co-producing with DHX media and expects to launch this fall.  The first 26, 11-minute episodes will be available in July.

Contacts:

Alpha Group, Kimberly Morris , Senior Dir. Marketing, 424-321-6018, kim.morris@alphagroup-us.com

Funko, Dolly Ahluwalia, VP Licensing and Business Development, dolly@funko.com

Jazwares, Sam Ferguson, VP Global Licensing, +44 203 598 0270, sferguson@jazwares.com

Mattel, Janet Hsu, Chief Franchise Development Officer, 310-252-2000, janet.hsu@mattel.com

McFarlane Toys, Todd McFarlane, CEO, 480-491-7070, tmcfarlane@mcfarlane.com

Moose Toys, Alexandra Ries, VP Marketing and Strategy, 310-341-4642, alex.ries@moosetoys.com

Playmates Toys, Karl Aronian, SVP Marketing, 855-807-9515

Zuru, James Nunziati, VP Sales and Marketing North America, 310-344-0310, james@zuru.com